Is the free at sea really a good deal???

[ggTexasGal]

It's a NO BRAINER. Even if you are a moderate drinker and only have 4-5 drinks per day.

 

Let's say it's 4 - a couple glasses of wine with dinner and maybe a couple afterwards. The gratuity for the package on a 7 day is just under $125 per person. So for moderate drinkers - $4-5 per drink. You can't beat that.

 

 

NCL has very few, if any, $4-$5 drinks!

$5.95 for Mimosa or Bloody Mary during morning hours.

$8.95 for "The Drink of the Day"!

Most mixed drinks start at $10.95 and go up from there.

Some wines are about $8.00-$9.00, or more.

*** NOT Included: "specialty coffees", bottled water, milkshakes, and floats, etc.

 

Here's an example when passenger buys drinks onboard without the UBP:

One person buys 2 of the "Drink of the Day"@ $8.95, everyday.

They would have onboard charges: $8.95 + $1.79 = $10.74

2 per day would equal $21.48 each day.

At day 7, this one person would have $150.36 spent for 14 drinks on their account.

 

Here's the example with UBP perk:

 

Value of UBP is $89/pp/pd. Then, 20% Service Charge is added.

Passenger(s) select(s) UBP and pay(s) the Service Charge of $17.80 per person per day.

($89 x 20% = $17.80)

But, it's a package for the entire week.

So, multiply by 7: $89 x 20% x 7 days = $124.60.

$124.60 per person PREPAID, so when you embark, you don't have to worry about your account (unless you are drinking the above mentioned beverages that are not not included, and/or only drink premium drinks)!

 

Base your decision on how many drinks per person, per day, you probably will consume.

IF it is not 2, or more, each day (or an average of 4 or more per couple each day), you might very well be better off charging individual drinks to your Onboard Account when you are onboard.

[ggTexasGal]

Another question not related to this but you all seem to be seasoned NCL cruisers. If we book and a lower rate comes along can we request a credit? And is the free at sea the only promo they run??

 

If you book and see a lower fare prior to FINAL PAYMENT, you can call and ask for the lower rate. It would be a considered a cancellation and rebooking (but we've always kept our original booking number). The FREE AT SEA promo has been running for several years with variations throughout the year.

Which is a very good point, because even if the fare goes down, the overall cost and/or value of your cruise can change and not end up in your favor, afterall.

 

So, when you see price drops, calculate every aspect of each booking. Sometimes, you can win, sometimes you can lose!

[ggTexasGal]

And that's why everyone should read the Terms and Conditions of the offers! ;)

 

:cool:YES!:cool:

[ggTexasGal]

I'm taking a 15 day Panama Canal cruise in 2019 and the service charge is around $500 for the UBP for 15 days. This would cost me around $1900 for Cheers on Carnival or Royal Caribbean. It was a deciding factor to book WITH NCL because of it .....

 

$500 for 15 days of "all you can drink" sounds like a deal to me! :D

[crazyboutdisney]

If you book and see a lower fare prior to FINAL PAYMENT, you can call and ask for the lower rate. It would be a considered a cancellation and rebooking (but we've always kept our original booking number). The FREE AT SEA promo has been running for several years with variations throughout the year.

Which is a very good point, because even if the fare goes down, the overall cost and/or value of your cruise can change and not end up in your favor, afterall.

 

So, when you see price drops, calculate every aspect of each booking. Sometimes, you can win, sometimes you can lose!

Ok thank you!!! We did get a drop on our previous cruise but the travel agent handled all that.

[ggTexasGal]

Gratuities...

If you choose to give cash tips, the bartenders might well treat you even better than they would have otherwise!

[adjensen]

Another question not related to this but you all seem to be seasoned NCL cruisers. If we book and a lower rate comes along can we request a credit? And is the free at sea the only promo they run??

 

Their "Black Friday" deal last year was every balcony booking got all five offers, instead of the usual two -- we got that for our Escape cruise last week. Will look to do the same again this November.

[cheersforbeers]

Their "Black Friday" deal last year was every balcony booking got all five offers, instead of the usual two -- we got that for our Escape cruise last week. Will look to do the same again this November.

 

 

 

Another question not related to this but you all seem to be seasoned NCL cruisers. If we book and a lower rate comes along can we request a credit? And is the free at sea the only promo they run??

 

 

You get the perks that came with your booking at that time. If at a later time you find a less expensive fare and you decide you want the you essentially have to rebook and give up perks on original booking and get perks at time of new booking with your lower fare.

Have a great cruise.

[Sailing12Away]

When we booked our trip we took advantage of the 3rd passenger free, and guests 1 & 2 get to drink for free. The NCL rep told us that essentially you are entitled to any alcoholic drink for "free" provided it is <$15 in price. If it is more expensive (some wines or scotch), then you simply get charged the difference. If my mother in law can tag along for a low cost of only $250 for her entire portion of the trip, and we get to drink without worry, it's a no brainer for us. Again, one drink at lunch, one at the pool, 2 with dinner, one nightcap.... it adds up quickly and we will easily get our money's worth.

[Tatka]

We don't usually use them, but on upcoming cruise in Europe we will use drink package.

$250 for 7 days for two of us seems like a great value especially considering current drink prices.

[Tatka]

When we booked our trip we took advantage of the 3rd passenger free, and guests 1 & 2 get to drink for free. The NCL rep told us that essentially you are entitled to any alcoholic drink for "free" provided it is <$15 in price. If it is more expensive (some wines or scotch), then you simply get charged the difference. If my mother in law can tag along for a low cost of only $250 for her entire portion of the trip, and we get to drink without worry, it's a no brainer for us. Again, one drink at lunch, one at the pool, 2 with dinner, one nightcap.... it adds up quickly and we will easily get our money's worth.

Well, you will still need to pay taxes 20% on drink package, but it is nothing comparing full price

[cheersforbeers]

Well, you will still need to pay taxes 20% on drink package, but it is nothing comparing full price

 

 

Tatka,

I’m old but I’m slow, $250 is the 20% on the drink package.

Sounds like you’re in.

Have a great Cruise

[MyTMo777]

After our second cruise with no drink package, I received an itemized account of everything we spent and where it was spent. I added up all the bar charges for both of us. The total under $300 for a 7-day cruise. Each of those charges included a gratuity added to the drink (either 18 or 20% - can’t recall). So buying the drink package is not worth it for us. We also found on our last cruise that we could get the Canadian at par OR one perk in our ocean view room, but not both. It was $1200 to go for the “free” perk, including the mandatory gratuities, so we chose the Canadian at par. No way we would use up $1200 in drinks, dinner or other perks.

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Forums

[dd likes to cruise]

So the travel agent is making us think we are getting a better deal than we are 🤔 Interesting lol

 

Is your travel agent picking up the tips/gratuities for you? I’m in a group for one of my ncl booked cruises and that is one of the things they are offering for us.

[sanger727]

Whether or not it’s a good deal really comes down to the base price and your priorities. I had the drink package on NCL on my last cruise for the first time and would have a hard time cruising without it. Not because I’m a huge drinker but it just made the vacation stress free.

 

So if I’m looking at a 7 day carnival cruise for $599 or a 7 day norwegian cruise for $799 with the free at sea, if you want apples to apples it’s really going to be $989 for carnival w cheers or $902 on norwegian w the free at sea. Given that I think norwegian provides a better product, that’s a no brainer. Yes, I could forgo the drink package and save money, but I like having it if it’s at a reasonable upcharge.

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Forums

[Boozebabe]

To me it sounded like a great deal but then I noticed the $250 service fee. And if you drink conservatively 6 drinks a day at $10.50 for 7 days times 2 people wouldn’t that also add around $160 in gratuity?

On carnival we don’t go all crazy because we are paying for it. We did this time and we didn’t have to pay gratuity because that was part of our group deal Now I just don’t know. The $250 makes it seem a lot less “free”

I believe the service charge is the tips based on the regular price per day times days of the cruise.

[NJCruisers]

If you want the best drink package, take Celebrity. Free is free. No paying extra for gratuities.

 

I do have a question. What are the alcohol drink packages available on Norwegian and where can I find out the differences (other than drink price limit)? I tried their website and couldn't find it.

Edited March 1, 2018 by NJCruisers
Added more comments

[ColinIllinois]

If you want the best drink package, take Celebrity. Free is free. No paying extra for gratuities.

 

 

Sure, but it's built in to the higher fare. They get you one way or another. ;)

[sailandcruise]

Another consideration is that the fare that qualifies for the free at sea is often higher than fares for the same cabin without the offer.

 

For example, on the December 17-24 Jade cruise, the sailaway fare for an inside (category IX) is $529; the lowest fare that qualifies for the offer (category IF, also a guarantee cabin) is $579. So the actual cost of the UDP (assuming no other differences) is $50 more than the $124.60 cost of the gratuities, or $174.60 per person. Still less than $25 per person per day, and worthwhile if having more than two drinks per day on average. For a balcony cabin on the same sailing, a guarantee (BX) has a base fare of $749 and the lowest fared specific cabin is $849, making the difference $100 more than the cost of gratuities, or $226.60 for 7 days, which equals $32.37 per day. Subtracted from this cost should be the value of the other free at sea offer (whichever someone chooses), and also other offers that may be valid with a non-sailaway balcony such as free gratuities and free OBC, which some travel agencies are offering now.

[crazyboutdisney]

Sure, but it's built in to the higher fare. They get you one way or another. ;)

I’m beginning to see that lol

[ColinIllinois]

I’m beginning to see that lol

 

 

Yea, but it still is so fun. Go, enjoy, get some great life memories. Life is short.

[rattmobbins]

My wife and I typically drink AT LEAST 4 or 5 drinks each or day when we're on vacay. For us the UBP was a total no brainer. They'll probably start losing money on us on day 2. Lol

[chars]

The UBP is totally worth it for my husband and I. We do not like to worry about our bill and just order what we would like. However, for those that don't drink a lot, if they book the sail away price they save a lot of money. It is more that just the cost of the UBP gratuity.

[crazyboutdisney]

We definitely enjoyed it on the Getaway! On Carnival we would always think, do we really need another drink. It was really nice to just have that drink! And to try new ones!! Ok, I'm sold!!!! lol

[Cruisercl]

If you want the best drink package, take Celebrity. Free is free. No paying extra for gratuities.

 

I do have a question. What are the alcohol drink packages available on Norwegian and where can I find out the differences (other than drink price limit)? I tried their website and couldn't find it.

 

In my experience Celebrity does not offer the UBP as a perk for ALL of its cruises which can make a difference when looking at cruises.